A Year of NUTS scenarios - and looking for ideas!

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

Happy New Year! The pace of writing has really accelerated since I started writing for the Two Hour Patreon a year or so ago, with nine supplements released (and x4 Weird War 2 titles!



I'd love to get some ideas from the LAF Brain Trust here on what could make for interesting skirmish scenario and campaign books.

Here are some ideas and drafts in the works:

1. Poland 1939
2. Chindits
3. The Last Castle (US + French + Wehrmacht against SS at The Battle of Castle Itter)
4. Resistance leader Captain Nieves
5. Resistance book
6. SOE book

Love to get more ideas -- what interesting scenarios or situations would you like to see turned into a book? Any thoughts are welcome!

[carlos marighela]

It seems to be, for understandable reasons, a less than popular topic in the US but the struggles around Buna and Gona in New Guinea in late 1942/ early '43 make for some fascinating scenarios.

Initially you have the attacks by the poorly trained and indifferently lead National Guardsmen of the 32nd Division, through some of the most hellish terrain imaginable, including foetid swamps where the troops are advancing up to their chests in water.

After several failed attacks you have the veteran 7th Division AIF take over the fighting and it's just as tough, more than one failed attack/ false start before, with tank support, eventual victory.

Lots of variety, both in troop types and terrain. Terrain wise it goes from, almost impenetrable swamps and creeks through to coconut plantations, open but with tall grass concealing many of the innumerable Japanese bunker lines to an airfield. The Japanese have anti-aircraft guns in support in addition to hundreds of well sited and concealed coconut log bunkers and crawl trenches.

The Allies are initiallty starved of indirect support. Later this improves. There's also armour support available. Initially the bizarre use of Universal carriers as improvised tanks followed by the use of M3 Stuarts. It's a battle or rather series of battles that kind of has it all and would make for very challenging games for the attacker.

If you want a wealth of detailed information, including maps, diagrams and photos, on the battles then it's all there in the Australian Official Histories, freely available online at the Australian War Memorial site.

This guy has done a fairly creditable account of the battles.

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

Great, thanks very much! I do have the New Guinea campaign, including some scenarios and a Kokoda Track campaign in the NUTS War Against Japan book. I wonder if I should split that book into three? Right now it has three theatres of combat against Japan -- Burma, PNG and the American Island Hopping campaigns.

https://twohourwargames.com/collections/ww2-and-ww1/products/war-against-japan

Are there any stand-out battles or unique events of the PNG Campaign that come to mind, like a particular event with the National Guardsmen of the 32nd Division or would a campaign book about their experiences be interesting?

The nice thing about working with Two Hour Wargames is that the owner, Ed Teixeira, gives you a lot of freedom and just says "Write what you want to play," so I can cover a range of topics that don't always get coverage from other companies

Cheers!

[frank xerox]

Ooh, how about Pavlov’s house?
Or Detachment Muerbe v Cretans, Kiwis & the town of Kastelli?
Or films - a Navarone campaign would be awesome for those of us without imaginations!

[mellis1644]

As Monty Python said - don't forget Finland. Some interesting skirmish games in the winter war - and ambushes etc from both sides.

The Canadians in Ortona is another interesting area for games.

French resistance in June 40 (after Dunkirk) is something which is rarely covered or gamed as well - there may be be some interesting scenarios there, as they did put a good show then - it was just too late strategically...

[carlos marighela]

As Monty Python said - don't forget Finland. Some interesting skirmish games in the winter war - and ambushes etc from both sides.

The Canadians in Ortona is another interesting area for games.

French resistance in June 40 (after Dunkirk) is something which is rarely covered or gamed as well - there may be be some interesting scenarios there, as they did put a good show then - it was just too late strategically...

I'd second Ortona. The Canadians wrote the book on FIBUA/MOUT and the lessons were learned at Ortona.

[fred]

Are you deliberately avoiding some of the main theatres?

D-Day / Normandy - perhaps not the landings at the scale of Nuts, but certainly the airborne drops, the units reassembling, then undertaking their missions. The British 6th Airborne stayed in the front line for months, sniping, patrolling and fighting.

Stalingrad - endless options for close quarter battles here.

Arnhem/Market Garden - British 1st Airborne in Arnhem or Osteerbeek for more close quarter fighting. The American Airborne give a lot of options for capturing bridges on day 1, and holding Hell’s Highway afterwards.

Tobruk - assaults on the defences - at different times you can flip the defenders and attackers (at a strategic level)

Commando raids - particularly the early ones into Norway offer something quite different.

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

Are you deliberately avoiding some of the main theatres?

D-Day / Normandy - perhaps not the landings at the scale of Nuts, but certainly the airborne drops, the units reassembling, then undertaking their missions. The British 6th Airborne stayed in the front line for months, sniping, patrolling and fighting.

Stalingrad - endless options for close quarter battles here.

Arnhem/Market Garden - British 1st Airborne in Arnhem or Osteerbeek for more close quarter fighting. The American Airborne give a lot of options for capturing bridges on day 1, and holding Hell’s Highway afterwards.

Tobruk - assaults on the defences - at different times you can flip the defenders and attackers (at a strategic level)

Commando raids - particularly the early ones into Norway offer something quite different.

Hi,
No, there are already NUTS books that cover many of those:

*Western Front with D-Day to the Rhine (US centric) and early war BEF
*Blood on the Risers: US 82nd airborne at D-Day
*Peiper at the Gates: Battle of the Bulge
*The Big Hurt: Hurtgen Forest
*Italy After Normandy: 1944 campaign in Italy
*Eastern Front with campaigns and scenarios from 1941 to 1945
*Stalingrad campaign book
*Desert War campaign book covering major campaigns and battles, including a Tobruk mini-campaign where you would use optional Privation rules and Supply rules to give sense of desperation to your games
*Desert Raiders campaign book
*War Against Japan campaign book covering 1941-1945 in Burma, PNG and Island Hopping
* Hell Hath no Fury tank-centric campaign book
*Smaller releases include: Philippines 1941-1942, Alaska Scouts and the Aleutian Campaign, the Alamo Scouts in PNG and Philippines, Hubal (Polish partisans), several Soviet books and related missions for Naval Infantry, Aerosans and Paratroops, and the speculative Czechoslovakia-German War of 1938 fictional campaign

So many interesting events and battles to choose from, trying to get a sense of where to go next or focus in on. Like when I wrote the War Against Japan book, I covered the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma to a small extent -- what an interesting campaign that could be.

Oh, and NUTS has a built campaign system and mission generator. Basically your unit can progress through the war from area to area on a strategic map to give you a sense of how they are doing in the bigger picture, letting your Mission success steer the outcome locally. Your figures can gain in skill and morale (called Rep), acquire additional gear, and between campaigns you may have a random event that rotates your unit home or to garrison duty, or even to another theatre as happened some times.

I see Ortona mentioned several times, I will look at that.

[fred]

That makes sense that these are already covered. Been years since I looked at Nuts and don’t think I ever really looked at the campaign guides.

[Storm Wolf]

What about the early war assault on Eben-Emael?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_%C3%89ben-%C3%89mael

Unusual as you get to play as the Germans 

Glen

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

That's a good one, as well as Crete book.

[Hang Tuah]

Hi,
No, there are already NUTS books that cover many of those:

*Western Front with D-Day to the Rhine (US centric) and early war BEF
*Blood on the Risers: US 82nd airborne at D-Day
*Peiper at the Gates: Battle of the Bulge
*The Big Hurt: Hurtgen Forest
*Italy After Normandy: 1944 campaign in Italy
*Eastern Front with campaigns and scenarios from 1941 to 1945
*Stalingrad campaign book
*Desert War campaign book covering major campaigns and battles, including a Tobruk mini-campaign where you would use optional Privation rules and Supply rules to give sense of desperation to your games
*Desert Raiders campaign book
*War Against Japan campaign book covering 1941-1945 in Burma, PNG and Island Hopping
* Hell Hath no Fury tank-centric campaign book
*Smaller releases include: Philippines 1941-1942, Alaska Scouts and the Aleutian Campaign, the Alamo Scouts in PNG and Philippines, Hubal (Polish partisans), several Soviet books and related missions for Naval Infantry, Aerosans and Paratroops, and the speculative Czechoslovakia-German War of 1938 fictional campaign

I think having more detailed synopses or even a photo of the table of contents page would help boost sales. Nowhere on the webpage does it say that the Chinese are covered in the War Against Japan Book, for example.

I second the idea of the Italian Campaign. The RSI forces are very interesting. I wonder how accessible information is on the campaigns involving the Italian Social Republic?

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

I think having more detailed synopses or even a photo of the table of contents page would help boost sales. Nowhere on the webpage does it say that the Chinese are covered in the War Against Japan Book, for example.

I second the idea of the Italian Campaign. The RSI forces are very interesting. I wonder how accessible information is on the campaigns involving the Italian Social Republic?

Good feedback. I'll see if it's possible to post a TOC for the books.

1. Re: Burma, the book includes Chinese infantry and vehicles, and includes a scenario where the player is with the Chinese 38th Division going to the relief of trapped British/Commonwealth forces at Yenangyaung.

2. The Italy After Normandy book covers 1944-1945, and includes RSI unit list and included in scenarios. IIRC it is based on the author's grandfather's experiences in the US Army. but could be adapted to British/Commonwealth based campaign.

Much of the Desert War book is British/Commonwealth centric, and 2/3rds of the War Against Japan book is focused on British/Commonwealth experiences.

[blacksmith]

I'd love to see a booklet with some of the most well known actions from the British commandos in WWII.
Also Eben Emael and Creta.

[cuprum]

An interesting scenario could be the story of Soviet raid partisan detachments operating in the German rear. The story of the 1st Ukrainian Partisan Division of Sidor Kovpak could be taken as a basis. An extremely interesting story (defeat of the German river flotilla; destruction of 39 enemy garrisons; a lot of sabotage actions; various opponents - rear and army units of the Germans, Hungarians, Slovaks, collaborators and Ukrainian nationalists).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydir_Kovpak

https://translated.turbopages.org/proxy_u/ru-en.ru.b3fd37c2-677a037c-3db0320d-74722d776562/https/ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Путивльский_партизанский_отряд

https://en.topwar.ru/131621-legendarnyy-partizanskiy-general-sidor-kovpak.html